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Research Library Collections of SF

This page is based upon Hal Hall's research for Anatomy of Wonder and is reprinted here by the generous permission of Mr. Hall, Libraries Unlimited, and Neil Barron.

The scholarly study of science fiction and fantasy is often dependent on the location of books and magazines that are scarce or fragile, or both. The past 25 years have witnessed the development of many collections that support scholarship, in a variety of locations. This survey identifies all the major collections as of mid-2006, with brief descriptive information on each. Researchers are advised to go to the source (the holding library) for more precise information on the materials available. Location of required books and magazines has been significantly advanced by access to online public catalogs of virtually all academic and large public libraries. LibWeb is a gateway to academic and public libraries, and is a useful resource for the researcher (http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/Libweb/) Researchers should consult with their local library and request access to OCLC (Online Computer Library Center) and RLIN (Research Libraries Information Network), or use the open access version of the OCLC catalog (http://worldcat.org/ ). These two collaborative resources provide extensive access to both printed works and to collections of manuscripts and papers. As a general rule, interlibrary loans are not available from special collections in libraries, and photocopying is limited to items where the process will not damage the item. Old and fragile material is rarely copied. Nonetheless, interlibrary loan continues to be a key tool for the scholar seeking specific texts or additions. Contact individual libraries for special provision of service.

The Eaton Collection at the University of California, Riverside, is the premier collection in the United States, followed by a number of collections in the United States and Canada. Based on monographic holdings, notable US collections include Texas A&M University, Bowling Green State University, The University of South Florida, Temple University, Brigham Young University and the Dallas Public Library. In Canada the Merril Collection at the Toronto Public Library has long been the premier collection, and is joined by the University of New Brunswick and the recently announced collection at the University of Calgary. Internationally, the great research collections are the University of Sydney, the Science Fiction Foundation Collection at the University of Liverpool, the Maison d'Ailleurs in Switzerland, with manuscripts of every French- speaking science fiction author, and the Phantastische Bibliothek Wetzlar, which claims 85,000 items. These collections, separately or together, provide the source material for all manner of scholarship.

Here is a statistical summary of the 26 largest science fiction and fantasy collections world-wide.
Data are as reported by the libraries in 2003.
Mono = monographs (individual books); mag = magazines.

Library Name

Total Pieces

Mono Titles

Mag
Titles

Mag
Issues

Manuscripts
(Linear Ft)

A/V
(Titles)

Univ. of California, Riverside

295,000

85,000

175

100

200

Phantastische Bibliothek Wetzlar

130,000

University of Louisville

100,000

10,000

University of Sydney

90,000

50,000

170

41,000

10

Toronto Public Library

58,000

30,000

23,700

710

Texas A&M University

45,000

24,900

200

60

University of Calgary

40,000

Maison d'Alleurs

35,000

University of Maryland

30,600

10,600

100

20,000

ca 100

90

University of New Brunswick

27,000

16,000

11,000

University of Liverpool

27,000

Bowling Green State University

26,000

15,000

500

5,200

60

University of South Florida

18,000

17,000

61

350

Eastern New Mexico University

23,000

12,800

900

11,695

100

Temple University

22,000

15,000

7,000

130

University of California, Los Angeles

20,000

10,000

100

5,000

5

Northwestern

20,000

Michigan State University

19,500

10,000

2,000

University or Arizona, Tucson

18,000

University of Kansas

18,000

10,000

128

140

500

Dallas Public Library

16,275

16,000

275

Univ. of California, Fullerton

14,000

4,500

221

1,241

University of Texas, Austin

13,000

8,000

250

San Francisco Public Library

12,000

Brigham Young University

12,000

12,000

40

Louisiana State University

10,000

Syracuse University

10,000

4,100

5,800

310

University of Iowa *

250,000

* A special collection consisting primarily of fanzines.

Two new collections have been reported. The University of South Florida now has a collection of books in the 5,000 title range. The University of Iowa acquired the Horvat Collection, estimated at 250,000 fanzine issues.

Not one of the very fine collections just mentioned exists in a national library, largely because such libraries were established long before the study and collection of SF became common. This does not to imply that the Library of Congress, the British Library, the Bibliotheque Nationale, and the National Library of Australia and all the other national libraries do not serve the scholar. Virtually all the national bibliographies are now online, and provide invaluable bibliographic information on the literature of each country. The GABRIEL Gateway (http://portico.bl.uk/gabriel/ ) provides the researcher a useful pathway to most European national bibliographies. For questions about translations, UNESCO provides the Index Translationumonline. While not complete, it is the best extant source for such information.

Two collections offer specialized material of value to researchers. They are private collections servicing members, but both offer access to researchers by appointment. Staffing is typically by volunteers, so early advance contact and scheduling is essential.

The MIT Science Fiction Society Library (W20-473 MIT Student Center, 84 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, MA 02139. 617-225-6453) is a club collection with a long history and reputation as one of the most complete science fiction magazine collections in North America. The MITSF Catalog indicates good coverage of non-English language periodicals. Around 35,000 total items. The "Pinkdex" to the catalog can be searched online by author and title. The hours are irregular, mostly evenings. Some material circulates to members, room use only for the public. Information is available online at http://www.mit.edu/~mitsfs/

The collections chosen for inclusion in this edition are of value to research, in their inclusiveness, or by virtue of specialized materials held. All collection descriptions were updated as necessary. Phone numbers and web addresses are provided for most collections. Advance contact is always advised. Library personnel will go out of the way to be helpful in discussing your research or reading needs, and will provide photocopies of materials if they are not fragile. Legal restrictions may restrict access, either because of copyright law or because writers or their families have requested that a collection be closed for a specified time period. Some collections require individual approval from the collection donor for use. Needs for public service, adherence to gift agreements, and protection of rare and fragile material require patience and flexibility on the part of both the institution and the scholar.

The arrangement here is alphabetical by state for the United States, followed by other countries in alphabetical order.

Library Collections

NOTE: to locate manuscript and paper holding, search the author's last name for libraries holding material.

Arizona

University of Arizona Library

A science fiction collection of 18,000 volumes, with current acquisitions restricted to science fiction as opposed to fantasy and horror. The collection is based on the individual collections of Margaret Brown, Archibald Hanna, and Anthony Boucher. Holdings include complete runs of most American science fiction magazines and strong representation of early pulps. This is a noncirculating collection, and it is 90 percent cataloged. No interlibrary loan.

California

California State University

The University Archives and Special Collections Unit holds a science fiction collection of 174 linear feet of hardbacks, paperbacks and periodicals. A larger circulating collection is distributed throughout the library. The science fiction manuscript collection is contained in 378 boxes (63 linear feet) . The collection holds 146 film or TV scripts and a handful of recordings and pieces of art. The collection has particular strength in the manuscripts and papers of Avram Davidson, Philip K. Dick, Harry Harrison, Frank Herbert, and Robert Moore Williams. Finding guides are available for the manuscripts and papers. The Philip Dick holdings are described in "Philip K. Dick Manuscripts and Books: The Manuscripts and Papers at Fullerton," Science-Fiction Studies 2, no.1 (March 1975), p. 4-5. The collection was described in McNelly, Willis E., "The Science Fiction Collection," p. 17-26 of Very Special Collections: Essays on Library Holdings at California State University, Fullerton, ed. by Albert R. Vogeler and Arthur A. Hansen, The Patrons of the Library, 1992. Partially cataloged. Photocopies are available.

Huntington Library

The Huntington Library is noteworthy for the collections of correspondence held, including: Brian Aldiss, 107 letters to his publishers, 1965-1973; Poul Anderson, 79 letters to his publishers, 1960-1977; Philip K Dick, 61 pieces, including letters, out- lines, and photographs; Frederik Pohl, 91 letters, 1959-1975; Robert Silverberg, 1,700 pieces, 1953-1992, including notes, drafts of short stories, and letters; and Clifford D. Simak, 20 letters, 1961-1974. The manuscript holdings are described in: Guide to Literary Manuscripts in the Huntington Library (San Marino: the Library, 1979). The Huntington's material is non-circulating, but available to qualified scholars. Photocopying of some of the manuscripts is restricted.

San Francisco Public Library

The McComas Collection holds 3,000 volumes of science fiction, plus a strong collection of 92 periodical titles. Portions of the collection were destroyed in 1989, mostly pulp titles at the beginning of the alphabet. The collection is non-circulating and reported as fully cataloged. It is growing by about 30 volumes per year, plus several magazine subscriptions. Photocopying is available but not interlibrary loan.

University of California, Los Angeles

The Nitka Collection of Science Fiction and Fantasy has more than 10,000 monograph volumes including over 400 early editions of H. Rider Haggard. A magazine collection of over 5,000 issues of 100 titles supplements the monograph collection. Holdings include Ray Bradbury manuscripts (1.5 linear feet), Jean Aroeste (Star Trek scripts), George Pal, Gene Roddenberry, Betty Rosenberg, Rod Serling, and other scattered manuscripts. Finding guides to many of the collections are available online. The collection is cataloged.

The Eaton Collection holds approximately 85,000 volumes of science fiction, plus 100 shelf-feet of manuscripts, over 200,000 issues of fanzines, over 200 sound and video recordings, extensive periodical holdings of over 175 science fiction or fantasy titles, 5,000 comic books, and shooting scripts of more than 500 SF motion pictures.. The collection includes the largest holdings of 17th-19th century utopian/dystopian fiction in North America, with a rare copy of Thomas More’s Utopia as the centerpiece. The Collection holds almost 90 percent of all 20th-century American and British science fiction, fantasy, and horror, the largest collection of French science fiction in North America, and representative collections of Japanese, Spanish, Russian, and German science fiction. The collection offers 10,000 reference, bibliographic, biographic, and index volumes pertaining to science fiction, and 75 pieces of science fiction art, including some original artwork. The library some 200,000 issues of “fanzines,” including the Bruce Pelz Collection, making this the premier location for studies of SF fandom. The manuscript holdings include partial or full manuscript collections of: Gregory Benford, David Brin, Michael Cassutt, Philip K Dick, G. C. Edmonson, Sheila Finch, Robert L. Forward, Diana G. Gallagher, Arthur Loy Holcomb, Gary Kern, Annette Y. Mallett, Daryl F. Mallett, Anne McCaffrey, George E. Slusser, Gary Westfahl, James White, Colin Wilson, and more. The collection catalog was published as: Dictionary Catalog of the J Lloyd Eaton Collection of Science Fiction and Fantasy Literature (Boston: G. K. Hall, 1982) , 3 vols. The collection is cataloged, except for the manuscripts. It is non-circulating, and is growing by more than 4,000 items per year. It is a Science Fiction Writers of America depository library. Photocopies are available depending on the item.

District of Columbia

Library of Congress

The Library of Congress has no discrete science fiction collection, but the sheer scale of the library makes it a resource no researcher should overlook. The Library’s General Collections of books and bound serials are home to the single greatest number of genre-related items. As the general collections number more than 10 million items (there are more than 25 million bound volumes in the Library), it is almost impossible to estimate exactly how many of these items would be considered works of science fiction, including a number of foreign science fiction titles, which are acquired through exchange. 70% of the collection is cataloged. The magazine collection contains over 60,000 titles and 10,000,000 issues. A Jules Verne Collection contains rare Verne volumes donated by Willis E. Hurd (1875-1958). The Rare Book and Special Collection Division holds the only extant copies of the earliest American appearances of one of Verne’s earliest novels, From the Earth to the Moon (1865), in both a serial (New York Weekly Magazine of Popular Literature, 1867) and a book edition (American News Company, 1869). This collection is the large of Verne material outside of France. The Pulp Fiction collection consists of issues received on copyright deposit at the time of their publication. It is described in Annette Melville's "Special Collections in the Library of Congress: A Selective Guide" (Washington, DC: Library of Congress, 1980). A great majority of the issues were held by the Serial and Government Publications Division, although three extremely rare and valuable titles were transferred to the Rare Book & Special Collections Division: Amazing Stories, Black Mask, and Weird Tales. The collection has now been microfilmed and is available in the Microform Reading Room. The collection contains over 380 titles, with 10,000 issues. A list of titles may be viewed at: http://www.loc.gov/rr/news/pulp.html. The Dell Paperback Collection includes a virtually complete set of Dell paperbacks from 1943 to the present. In forming this archival collection, Western Publishing Company tried to document major changes in cover design resulting from marketing strategy, the release of a movie adaptation and fluctuations in price and in many cases successive reissues of a single publication. The four copies of Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse-Five issued under number 8029, for example, exhibit three markedly different covers. Though approximately 90 percent of the books are reprints of titles previously issued in hard cover, the collection includes the Dell First Edition series which was begun in 1953. The 6,501 paperback volumes are grouped by series and arranged in serial order. They are described in an author and title file prepared by Western Publishing Company. In 1976, the library instituted a Paperback Copyright Collection, now numbering over 75,000 items, to provide a unique documentary record of American popular publishing and reading trends. Material related to science fiction and fantasy may be found in the Dime Novel Collection (40,000 titles), the Juvenile Collection (20,000 items), and the Big Little Book Collection (534 items). The Library of Congress holdings were described by Judith Mistichelli, in "Science Fiction at the Library of Congress," Science Fiction Collections, ed. by H. W. Hall (Haworth Press, 1983) , p. 9-24.

Illinois

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

The H. G. Wells Collection includes an extensive book collection from Wells’ personal library, with his inscribed and corrected first editions, and extensive correspondence files both to and from Wells. The Wells manuscripts are in 145 boxes, of which 24 boxes are science fiction related (81.5 cubic feet). The collection includes over 70,000 pieces of correspondence about business and legal affair; diaries, journals, drawings, publication records, manuscripts and proofs of published works; speeches; unpublished material; photographs. An online database of the correspondence collection aids access. A grant project supports the cataloging of all of Wells' works on OCLC and microfilming of the collection. Another collection, the ]affee Collection, specializes in first edition science fiction in dust jacket. The ]affee Collection is actively growing, and includes over 500 volumes. Photocopies are available.

Wheaton College

The library holds more than 200 linear feet of Madeleine L 'Engle’s papers and writings, supplemented by about 160 of her published works, and a selection of media materials. The Madeleine L'Engle Collection is added to regularly through purchases and gifts and accessible by written permission only. A container list online gives good access to collection contents. The World Science Fiction Conference (Chicon) Collection contains the files (more than three linear feet) of Chicon IV, held in Chicago in 1982. The Coleman Luck Collection contains scripts and other materials related to the Otherworld television series, which aired on CBS in the late 1980s.

Indiana

The Lilly Library has no separate SF /fantasy collections, but has extensive holdings in these areas. Authors' papers in the library include those of Anthony Boucher, Fritz Leiber, August Derleth, Robert Bloch, James Blish, Ray Bradbury, Kurt Vonnegut Orson Welles, and others. Correspondence from many SF /fantasy writers is scattered throughout the collections, especially in publishers' files such as those of Bobbs- Merrill and Capra Press. First edition collections of many authors are held, including Wells, Verne, Haggard, Chesterton, Derleth, and Lovecraft. A separate catalog of the collection is available. The collection is partially cataloged.

Special Collections holds the Mike Horvat Collection of Science Fiction Fanzines. Mike Horvat collected general circulation science fiction magazines and fanzines, dating from the 1960s through 2006, with some earlier titles. The Horvat Collection houses a vast archive of apazines -- such as NAPA, the long-running zine of the National Fantasy Fan Federation. The total collection contains an estimated 250,000 issues, primarily of fan magazines, or fanzines. The correspondence of fan editors Gertrude Carr and Richard Geis are also part of the collection.

Kansas

University of Kansas

The Spencer Library was established in 1969, and now holds over 10,000 volumes of science fiction, and more than 80 reference or critical volumes. One hundred twenty-eight magazine titles are held, as well as a large collection of fanzines. The collection holds at least 500 recordings, both audio and visual, miscellaneous convention literature, buttons, posters, prospectuses, and so forth, and one Hugo award statuette. Over 200 linear feet of manuscripts and papers include the following: Brian Aldiss (13 feet), Lloyd Biggle (17), Algis Budrys (1), Thomas Easton (2),]. James Gunn (72), Hunter Holly (4), Lee Killough (12), P. Schuyler Miller (18), T. L. Sherred (4), Cordwainer Smith (3), A. E. van Vogt (1), Robert Mills Agency/Richard Curtis Agency (29), Science Fiction Research Association (7) . The collection is the official repository for the archives of the Science Fiction Research Association and the Science Fiction Oral History Association (audio tapes only received so far). It includes SFWA official papers from the presidencies of Gunn, Williamson, and Pohl. The collection is the North American Repository for World SF, which deposits non-English-language books and has participated in the SFWA depository scheme since 1970. The collection is described in 'The Library of the Future: Science Fiction and the Department of Special Collections," by Ann Hyde, Books and Libraries at the University of Kansas 13, no.3 (Spring 1976): 1-5, and "Records of the Time Patrol: SF at KU," by Ann Hyde, Books and Libraries at the University of Kansas 20 (Spring 1988) : 1-8.

The collection is active, adding 400 items annually by gift. The collection is non-circulating, and partially cataloged. Materials on-site are accessible by donor lists and shelf arrangement. Photocopies are available.

Kentucky

University of Lousville

The Edgar Rice Burroughs collection of over 100,000 items, is the largest of its kind in any institutional library, and includes first editions, personal memorabilia, scrapbooks, Burroughs's school textbooks, comics, posters, photos, manuscripts, fanzines, toys, movies, and related material about Burroughs. The collection includes original art by J. Allen St. John, Burne Hogarth and others, Burroughs family letters and papers, photographs and notes, and the files Burroughs biographer Irwin Porges. The Burroughs Collection is supplemented by collections of Ambrose Bierce, L. Frank Baum, August Derleth, Ursula K. Le Guin, and a pulp magazine collection of over 10,000 issues. The library publishes a journal (Burroughs Bulletin [_#_]) and a monthly newsletter The Gridley Wave. Collecting is active, with regular additions through purchase and gift. Materials are for room use only. Photocopies, but no interlibrary loan. The collection is described in McWhorter, George T., Edgar Rice Burroughs Memorial Collection: A Catalog. Ltd. first ed. (House of Greystoke, 1991), 190 p., and McWhorter, George T., "Edgar Rice Burroughs," Library Review 30 (May 1980).

Louisiana

Tulane University

This is an active special collection of 4,600 books, plus 2,500 magazine issues, and 400 fanzine issues. Specialties include the works of Rosel George Brown, who began the collection, and Robert Heinlein first editions. The archives and papers of the Cheap Street Press were acquired in 2002. The collection is growing at a rate of about 200 volumes per year. The materials are all non-circulating, with some interlibrary loan and photocopying available. Partially cataloged.

Maryland

University of Maryland

The Azriel Rosenfeld Science Fiction Research Collection includes 10,000 volumes of science fiction and 600 volumes of reference and critical work. More than 100 magazine titles are held, along with 20,000 fanzine issues, 790 manuscripts, 4,000 letters, 42 sound recordings, 17 visual recordings, 31 film scripts, and 100 pieces of SF art. The Sapienza collection was acquired in 2003, containing books, magazines and fanzines. Currently being processed, it will add significantly to the science fiction and fantasy holdings. A collection of over 6,500 comic books includes some SF and fantasy titles. The collection is particularly strong for authors Roger Zelazny, Thomas F. Monteleone, and David Bischoff. The David Bischoff collection of manuscripts, correspondence, personal papers, books, and journals was acquired recently. Individual manuscripts by Roger Zelazny, Thomas F. Monteleone, Charles L. Harness, Brian M. Stableford, E. C. Tubb, and 18 other authors are held. The Walter Coslet fanzine collection is a major strength, mostly dating from before 1960 and including many from the 1930-1950 period. A catalog of the fanzine collection is available on-line. The collection is active, adding 400 items annually. Cataloging of the books is 75 percent complete, and is searchable on-line. Photocopies are available, but no interlibrary loan.

Michigan

Michigan State University

Part of the Russell B. Nye Popular Culture Collection is a 12,000-volume science fiction collection that is mostly monographs, but includes samples of most science fiction magazines and some 2,000 fanzine issues. All manuscripts of the Clarion Workshop from 1969 to the present are held. The Clarion manuscripts are arranged by year and by author. A comic book collection of more than 75,000 items includes at least 1,000 science fiction comics, depending on definition. The Vincent Voice Library is a regional depository for the Science Fiction Oral History Association collection, which numbers more than 350 tapes. In 1977, a collection of James Tiptree, Jr. award winners and short-list titles was started. The books, pulps, magazines, comics, and sound recordings are cataloged on OCLC. Cataloging has been enhanced to include publishers' series designations and names of illustrators, cover and jacket artists whenever possible. The collection grows by gifts at a rate of about 300 items per year, and has been an SFWA depository since 1972. The materials are non-circulating. Some photocopies are available, but no interlibrary loan.

University of Michigan

The Hubbard Collection of Imaginary Voyages consists of 3,000 volumes of fiction and 130 volumes of reference and critical material, largely of various editions, translations, adaptations, abridgments, and imitations of Robinson Crusoe and Gulliver's Travels. A few books by such authors as, Verne, Bellamy, and Cyrano de Bergerac are included. Almost entirely limited to imaginary voyages on Earth with few interplanetary trips. The collection holds a few items by James Branch Cabell, papers of Marge Piercy (14 l. f.), and the Cabell Society archives (2319 items). The collection is active, adding three to five items annually. It is non-circulating, fully cataloged, and photocopies are available.

Minnesota

University of Minnesota

The Manuscripts Division holds a Star Trek collection of about 9 linear feet of scripts and related materials, including 50 published volumes of Star Trek fiction, 100 reference and critical volumes, and nine sound recordings. The scripts are a pilot script and complete set of shooting scripts for the original television series, and shooting scripts for the first two movies. The Children's Literature Research Collections (Kerlan Collection and Hess Collection) contain many books of interest to students of young adult and children's science fiction and fantasy. Manuscripts and papers include Gordon R. Dickson (60 boxes), Clifford D. Simak (17 boxes), Car I Jacobi (5 boxes), E. Hoffman Price (1 box) , and H: P. Lovecraft (17 items) are maintained. The focus of the collection is authors having Minnesota connections. An attempt is being made to collect material from the old pulp Writers, such as Price and Jacobi, but the pulp magazines themselves are not retained in the division. The collections contain notes, correspondence, manuscript drafts, and some galley proofs. The collection is actively maintained and cataloged for use within the Division. Acquisitions are by gift only.

New Mexico

Eastern New Mexico University

The Williamson Science Fiction Library originated with gifts from Jack Williamson and now consists of more than 23,000 items. Fully cataloged and circulating are 12,800 volumes of fiction. The magazine collection (including fanzines) includes 11,695 issues of 900 tides. The manuscript collection includes material from Jack Williamson ( 47 l.f.) , Leigh Brackett (8 l.f.), Edmond Hamilton (4 l.f.), Forrest J. Ackerman (13.5 l.f.), Piers Anthony (1 l.f.), Analog files 1954-1975 (various authors), (21 l.f.), James Blish, SFWA Presidential (1 l.f.), Marcia Howl (1 l.f.), Woody Wolfe (1 l.f.). The Williamson collection is a regional depository for the Science Fiction Oral History Association, and 44 sound recordings from the SFOHA are held. The collection is active, adding at least 400 tides per year, and has been an SFWA depository since 1969. The books are cataloged on OCLC, and internal lists and indexes are used to keep track of the rest of the material. Circulating materials will be lent on interlibrary loan, and photocopies are available.

University of New Mexico

The Donald Day Science Fiction Collection consists of a virtually complete collection of 52 American and three British magazines published between 1926 and 1950. The magazines are those indexed in Donald B. Day's Index to the Science Fiction Magazines, 1926-1950. The collection includes Day's original card index. The collection is non-circulating, inactive, and riot cataloged in the library sense, although the index serves the purpose. An inventory is available from the center. Photocopying is not available.

New York

New York Public Library

The General Research Division has over 7,000 volumes of science fiction in closed stacks. Current science fiction paperbacks are being filmed routinely in the Microforms Division, and over 2,000 are on film. The Microforms Division (separate from the General Research Division but at the same address) holds most commercial science fiction microforms available (pulps and magazines), and 212 sample fanzine titles filmed in-house. The collection is growing by 500 volumes per year. The collection can be searched through OCLC AND RLIN. Photocopies and interlibrary loan are available.

North Carolina

Duke University

The Negley Collection consists of over 1,600 volumes of utopian fiction. The basic description of the collection is found in Glenn Negley's Utopian Literature: A Bibliography, With a Supplementary Listing of Works Influential in Utopian Thought (1978). This major utopian collection is active, adding 15-20 items annually. It is cataloged, and searchable online. (Note: The frequently cited Folcroft edition is reprinted from a partial checklist and should be avoided, according to the library.) The library also holds the papers of Kathy Acker (20.5 l. f.) In 2003, the Murray Collection of popular culture was donated, consisting of 55,000 comic books, "thousands" of fanzines, SF and fantasy books, and other material. A donation of extensive runs of SF magazines will be made later. Contact the library for availability of the material in the Murray collection.

Ohio

Bowling Green State University

The science fiction and fantasy holdings of The Popular Culture Library include over 15,000 volumes of fiction and related reference and critical volumes; 500 magazine titles; 1,000 fanzine issues; 5,200 pulp magazine issues, and many manuscripts. Manuscripts holdings include Daniel Cohen (18 l.f.), Alexi Panshin (19.5 l.f.), Joanna Russ (7.5 l.f.), Carl Jacobi, and Sheldon R. Jaffery (26 boxes). The collection is a good source for American magazines, 1926-1960. Especially notable are the Michael L. Cook Collection of fanzines and the H. James Horvitz Science Fiction Collection of pulp magazines. The Ray Bradbury collection consists of over 700 books and 15 linear feet of nonbook materials. There are rare Bradbury pamphlets, comic book adaptations, original art by Bradbury, sound recordings, maps, broadsides, photographs, galley proofs, scripts, programs, screenplays, diary notes, posters, promotional material, interviews, speeches, and more than 400 periodicals. The centerpiece of the manuscript collection is the heavily revised 221-page typed draft of Fahrenheit 451. Also included are 120 manuscripts in 160 drafts of Bradbury short stories and verse. An unusual item is a 135,000- word manuscript transcribed from tapes forming a complete Bradbury autobiography. The Jaffery collection includes nearly complete sets of Arkham House and DAW books. The Marie Wakefield collection of Star Trek material was recently added to the collection, including videotapes, books, models, sound recordings, games, posters, figures, costume jewelry, comic books, and even a McDonald's Happy Meal box. Many items are still in their original packaging.. The collection is active, adding 200 to 1,000 items annually. The catalog of the library is searchable online. Photocopies are available; no interlibrary loan.

Ohio State University

Under the designation "The William Charvat Collection of American Fiction," Ohio State has been working for years to assemble a complete American fiction collection up to the year 1926, and since 1986. The Charvat Collection is primarily valuable for the pre-history of science fiction and fantasy, those books that were precursors to the establishment of the genre the late 1920s. Few library collect comprehensively for this period, as Ohio State seeks to do. The Special Collections also include 105 science fiction magazine titles from 1926 to the present, including a nearly complete set of Weird Tales. A collection of a number of the original Star Trek series scripts is also held. Photocopies are available.

Pennsylvania

Temple University Libraries

The Science Fiction & Fantasy Collection (Paskow/Knuth) numbers some 20,000 books, 5,500 magazine issues, 2,500 fanzines, and 130 feet of manuscripts. Manuscripts include: Ben Bova, Gardner Dozois, Lloyd A. Eshbach/Fantasy Press, Jack Dann, Tom Purdom, Felix Gotschalk, John Varley, Oswald Train/Prime Press, Miriam DeFord, Richard Peck, Stanley Weinbaum and Camille Bacon-Smith, with notable manuscripts of John W. Campbell, John Taine (Bell), and E. E. Smith. Of particular note are strong collections of the published works of H. P. Lovecraft, Robert Howard, Ben Bova, and Stanley Weinbaum. Subsidiary collections include the CON collection of s.f. and fantasy conference booklets, programs and ephemera, the Sue Frank Klingon/Star Trek collection of fanzines and organizational newsletters, and the Enterprising Women Fan Fiction Collection (EWFFC) of amateur fiction. Although most of the collection (90 percent) was cataloged by 1984, the influx of gifts has since reduced to the proportion of cataloged material to about half. The collection is active, currently adding about 250 items per year. About 50 percent of the published material is searchable online, and much of the manuscript material is accessible through RLIN. The initial fanzine list is available on the website, but additions and revisions are on in-house lists only. The Collection is non-circulating, photocopy requests honored.

Rhode Island

Brown University

The definitive H. P. Lovecraft collection, with more than 700 printed and more than 5,000 manuscript items, half by Lovecraft himself and half by Lovecraft correspondents such as August Derleth, Frank Belknap Long, C. L. Moore, E. Hoffmann Price, and Clark Ashton Smith. A separate Clark Ashton Smith collection includes more than 5,000 manuscripts and 5,000 letters. The George Orwell Collection includes a draft copy of 1984, noted as the only manuscript of this work. An H. G. Wells collection contains some 500 items. A complete run of Weird Tales is held. Publisher collections include the complete works of Arkham House including most ephemera, and complete Donald W. Grant and Necronomicon Press collections. The collection is active, and cataloged.

Texas

Dallas Public Library

Since 1974, the library has been building a research collection of science fiction that now includes over 16,000 volumes, and 187 fantasy and science fiction periodical titles. Some 2,350 of the volumes are in the Brian Aldiss Collection, which also includes personal correspondence, photographs, speeches, illustrations, introductions, posters and cover art, book and film reviews, radio plays, and notes and typescripts for short stories, novels, and poetry. The collection is growing at a rate of about 300 volumes per year by gift and purchase. The collection is cataloged, and most of it circulates. Photocopies and interlibrary loan are available.

Texas A&M University

The Science Fiction Research Collection was begun in 1970, and now exceeds 40,000 items. An important strength of the collection is a pulp magazine collection, containing more than 200 titles of American and British science fiction magazines from 1923 to the present, plus a growing sample of foreign-language titles including substantial runs of Fiction (France), Galactika (Hungary), and Robot (Italy). The monograph collection of 25,000 volumes is strongest from 1950 to the present, but includes much pre-1950 material. The manuscript collection (200 linear feet) includes Michael Moorcock's Life Collection, 1995- , Chad Oliver's manuscripts, papers, and books, and the papers and books of Bill Crider, Joe Lansdale, Elizabeth Moon, Otto O. Binder, Martha Wells, Steve Gould, Laura Mixon, Fredric Pohl and Avram Davidson. The Sam Moskowitz collection includes his research files, manuscripts, and some correspondence. Other authors are represented with one or two manuscripts each. The George R. R. Martin collection (120 l.f.) includes his papers, books, and correspondence, with additions coming monthly. A William Gibson collection includes books and his correspondence with his agent 1981 - late 1990s. A special effort is made to collect all historical, critical and reference materials in all languages, including master's theses and doctoral dissertations. A particularly valuable segment of the collection is the "Science Fiction: Collected Papers" file, consisting of more than 10,000 pages of articles about science fiction collected by a local professor in his research. A representative collection of fanzine issues is maintained. The Roy Craig Collection contains the field notes and associated material of the Condon Report, The Scientific Study of Unidentified Flying Objects (1965).The collection is described in Hall, H. W., Science/Fiction Collections: Fantasy, Supernatural and Weird Tales (Haworth Press, 1983). The collection is active, adding 1,000 or more items annually. Monographs and magazines are accessible through the online catalog of the library. Photocopies are available. No interlibrary loan.

University of Texas at Austin

The Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center has nearly 8,000 volumes of fiction and hundreds of magazines, manuscripts, and letters. The core of the collection is the L. W. Currey Science Fiction and Fantasy Collection, which was the basis for his book on science fiction first editions

Utah

Brigham Young University

A collection of more than 12,000 volumes of science fiction, of which all but 1,000 volumes are circulating. This is the official Orson Scott Card depository and includes more than 40 linear feet of his manuscripts and papers, and books. Special interests include Arkham House publications, Edgar Rice Burroughs and Orson Scott Card first editions, and Science Fiction Book Club editions. The collection is an SFWA depository, and is growing by purchase as well, adding more than 600 items annually. The collection is searchable online. Interlibrary loan and photocopies are available.

Wisconsin

State Historical Society of Wisconsin

The August Derleth collection is composed of fantasy and science fiction pulp magazines, together with many detective and genre pulps to which Derleth contributed. The collection also includes some Arkham House books and the bulk of Derleth's manuscripts and personal papers, and some papers of Arkham House. The collection can be examined in the Archives Reading Room. No appointment is necessary, but it is recommended that researchers call ahead or write.

The J. R. R. Tolkien Collection is the definitive collection on Tolkien''''s Lord of the Rings trilogy, and on The Hobbit. The collection includes holograph renderings (manuscripts in the hand of the author), various sets of typescripts with corrections by Tolkien, and page proofs or galley sheets, also with corrections in the hand of the author. The manuscripts for The Lord of the Rings, 1938-1955, consist of 7,125 leaves (9,250 pages). Included are an advance proof copy of The Return of the King, printed maps of Middle-earth, dust jackets from the original Houghton Mifflin edition, several drafts of a rejected " Epilogue," and manuscript fragments from The Silmarillion (1977). Drawings and sketches, often in preliminary form in the margin of the text, can be found throughout the handwritten manuscripts. Linguistic and philological notes relating to Tolkien's invented languages also appear in the manuscripts, often on the verso of the main text. The documents reflect an extraordinary creative process; as many as 18 drafts exist for a single chapter. The Hobbit manuscripts, 1930-1937, which consist of 1,048 leaves (1,586 pages), include a holograph version, corrected typescripts, three sets of page proofs with the author's corrections, a water-color rendering by Tolkien of the dust jacket used by Allen and Unwin, printed maps with corrections, a watercolor of trolls and Gollum by German artist Horus Engels, and the original copy of "Thror's Map." Most of the early holograph is a continuous text with no chapter divisions. The manuscripts for Farmer Giles of Ham, ca. 1930-1938, 1948-1949, comprising 173 leaves (201 pages). Mr. Bliss, ca. 1928-1932, includes 39 leaves (61 pages). The collection includes a significant collection of Tolkien’s published works and associated critical works. Books and periodicals in the collection are described in the library online catalog. Associated collections add significant research value to the Tolkien collection. Taum J.R. Santoski (1958-1991) donated 200 books, dozens of periodicals, copies of Tolkien's academic publications, and notes on the manuscripts, particularly linguistic texts in The Lord of the Rings. S. Gary Hunnewell is building an inclusive collection of all periodicals produced by Tolkien enthusiasts. It contains many early US and foreign titles, including obscure publications from eastern Europe, as well as selected issues of general fantasy and science fiction " fanzines" relating to Tolkien. The collection is being loaned to Marquette with detailed bibliographic descriptions and indexing for microfilming on a continuing basis. Dr. Richard E. Blackwelder (1909-2001) donated collection of Tolkieniana. Remarkably comprehensive in scope, the Blackwelder Collection is believed to be the largest single body of secondary sources on Tolkien ever to be developed. The value of the collection is greatly enhanced by a well-defined scheme of arrangement and description. Detailed bibliographic information is provided for each item which has been acquired or identified, in conjunction with extensive indexing. The bequest contains many editions and printings of Tolkien's books, including nearly all printings of the Ballantine paperbacks.

Wyoming

University of Wyoming

Primarily a collection of science fiction and fantasy manuscripts, about 300 linear feet in extent. Author manuscripts collected, and number of boxes each: Robert Bloch (234+), Sam Peeples (50), Forrest J. Ackerman (140+), Martin Caidin (54+), Fritz Lang (30), H. L. Prosser (19), Donald A. Wollheim. (14), Michael Kurland (8), Hugo Gernsback (2.5), Philip Jose Farmer (8), A. E. van Vogt (3), William Dozier (22); mort Weisinger (30); George Pal (9); J. Vernon Shea 9); Jerry Sohl (11). The collections contain books, correspondence, magazines, and fan material collected by Wollheim, Bloch, Shea, and Ackerman. Of particular note in the Wollheim material are many items about early fandom in the United States. Voluminous correspondence relating to Wollheim's editorial experience is extremely valuable in the study of the development of the anthology. His correspondence also reflects important aspects of the market conditions for science fiction over a long period. Much correspondence with well-known writers is included. Some material is restricted. The collection is active, growing through gifts. Catalogs and finding aids are available on site. The collection may be used in-house only, and interlibrary loan is not offered. Photocopying is available.

Australia

Murdoch University Library

The Alternative and Contemporary Documents collection holds about 5,000 volumes of science fiction, and good periodical runs since 1950. The Leigh Edmonds collection contains over 300 titles of Australian fanzines. The collection is currently inactive. Photocopies and interlibrary loan are available.

University of Sydney Library

The Science Fiction and Fantasy Collection was established in 1974 as a research collection for scholars, and now holds over 50,000 volumes: hardcover 18,000, paperback 28,000, and 1,000 reference and critical volumes. The magazine collection contains 170 English-language titles, and 40 in foreign languages, with a total of more than 19,000 issues. Magazine holdings are virtually complete up to 1978. There are 2,000 fanzine titles, particularly early US fanzines and Australian fanzines. A comic book collection of over 1,426 titles, with over 20,000 issues supplements the science fiction collection. Some audio-visual material. Art work, film posters, movie stills, and memorabilia supplement the print collections. The library holds manuscripts and typescripts of Aldiss, Brunner, Chandler, Coney, Cowper, Ellison, Irvine, Lovecraft, Leiber, Priest, Tubb, Wilhelm, Wollheim, and others. Original illustrations by Virgil Finlay (6), Kelly Freas, Jack Gaughan, Rick Sternbach, and Donald Wollheim are in the collection. In 1979, holdings were greatly increased with the bequest of the Ron Graham SF Collection, and in 2003 the collection of Colin Steele, comprising a further 5,000 plus volumes was added. The collection is active, adding 150-200 items annually. The library has been a Science Fiction Writers of America Depository since 1981. Partial access is provided through local catalogs, and the online library catalog, including the Special Collections Database. The Graham collection has a title card catalog listing all editions, devised by Graham, and a finding list exists for the comics collection. Material is not for loan, but photocopies can often be provided.

The Merril Collection of Science Fiction, Speculation and Fantasy holds over 58,000 items including 30,000 volumes of fiction, over 5000 volumes of reference and critical material, and 23,700 issues of English-language magazines (including 1,200 fanzines). The collection includes graphic novels, audio recordings, videocassettes, fantasy role-playing games, fantasy art and original manuscripts by Phyllis Gotlieb, Guy Gavriel Kay, Cory Doctorow, Karl Schroeder and S. M. Stirling. Established in 1970 with the donation of Judith Merril's 5,000-item collection as the "Spaced Out Library," it was renamed the Merril Collection of Science Fiction, Speculation and Fantasy on January 1, 1991. Exhibitions in the reading room are changed quarterly. Fanzines and periodicals which are not professionally indexed are indexed in-house. All anthologies are indexed by author and title of each individual short story. The collection is described in The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (Clute and Nichols), and in H. W. Hall, ed. Science Fiction Collections: Fantasy/Supernatural and Weird Tales (Haworth Press, 1983). Collecting adds approximately 1,000 books and 1,000 periodical issues annually. A small circulating paperback collection is kept (7,000 volumes). Photocopies are available, depending on the fragility of the item. The fiction collection is being entered into the database of the Toronto Public Library and will be completely searchable in 2005. The Friends of the Merrill Collection is online at

University of Calgary

The University of Calgary received the collection of William Robert (Bob) Gibson in 2002, estimated at 30,000 – 40,000 pieces. The collection contains both books and magazines from the 1920s through the 1990s, and is currently being processed.

University of New Brunswick

The Science Fiction and Fantasy Collection includes more than 16,000 books including very substantial reference and critical materials, and 11,000 issues of periodicals including microfilm serial holdings, with some audiovisuals and other related material, including science fiction comic books. Manuscripts include three short stories by John Wyndham and Rite of Passage by Alexei Panshin. The collection began in 1966 and has been growing actively since through gifts and purchases. It is an SFWA depository, fully cataloged with an index to its vertical files. Items that are not rare circulate locally and through interlibrary loan. Photocopies are available.

United Kingdom

Oxford University

The Department of Western Manuscripts holds papers and books of James Blish, Michael Moorcock, and Brian Aldiss, plus a large general collection of printed science fiction received through copyright deposit.

The Science Fiction Foundation collection of over 30,000 pieces is housed in the University of Liverpool Library. The collection includes over 25,000 novels, collections and anthologies, 1,600 critical works and bibliographies, over 130 science fiction and fantasy magazine titles in paper and microfilm, some 80 critical magazine titles, and a selection of fanzines. The Myers Collection of Russian SF is an important resource for Russian texts. The library collects heavily in non-English material, with special strength in Eastern European titles. The SFFC and University of Liverpool library hold manuscripts and papers for a number of well-known
science fiction writers, including Stephen Baxter, Ramsey Campbell, Eric Frank Russell, John Wyndham, Ian Watson, Christopher Priest, Brian Stableford, Arthur Sellings, Barrington J. Bayley, and the associated Olaf Stapledon Archive. Publication of the journal Foundation, the International Review of Science Fiction

Germany

Phantastische Bibliothek Wetzlar

The Phantastische Bibliothek Wetzlar holds more than 130,000 books, paperbacks, booklets, and magazines of all fantastic genres (science fiction, fantasy, weird, fairy tales, utopias) of the 19th and 20th centuries in the German language. Manuscripts, nonfiction, catalogs, dictionaries, and fanzines are included. A complete set of German-language pulps and magazines is a valuable resource. All German fantastic authors are collected in depth. The materials are non-circulating, but the collection is open to the public and for research. The collection is actively growing, adding more than 5,000 items per year. A new web site is under development.

Switzerland

Maison d'Ailleurs

The Maison d ' Ailleurs holds over 40,000 volumes of science fiction in 34 languages, of which about one-fifth make up a lending library. The magazine collection is substantial, with more than 150 titles in English as well as more than 50 in other languages. Fanzines (more than 300 titles), audiovisual items (more than 1,700), and manuscripts of nearly every French author and some English are held. More properly a museum than a library, the Maison d'Ailleurs contains more than 60,000 items. The remainder includes posters, paintings, music, postage stamps, toys, games, comics, art, autographs, calendars, photographs, and much more, all relating to science fiction. The collection was amassed by Pierre Versins and Martine Thome, and is the essential collection for the study of French or European science fiction. The collection is described in Roger Gaillard's "The Maison d'Ailleurs, a Museum for Science-Fiction," in Foundation, no. 53 (1991), p. 7-23, and more recently in Locus, January 1994, p. 40. The collection is active, growing at a rate of about 1,000 items per year. Photocopies are available, but not interlibrary loan.Special Collections

A number of specialized or smaller collections exist. The following list gives contact information and brief descriptions of the content. Researchers are advised to contact the library for current holdings, availability, and hours of operation.

California

California State University

Special Collections and Archives, University Library, 1250 Bellflower Blvd., Long Beach, California 90840-1901, Telephone: 562-985-4087.
Web address: http://www.csulb.edu/library/guide/serv/special.html
The Masback Science Fiction Collection contains over 3000 paperback copies of science fiction, fantasy, and horror novels and short story collections. All volumes are fully cataloged and are available for loan. The David N. Samuelson Science Fiction and Fantasy Magazine Collection contains lengthy, often complete runs of 54 science fiction and fantasy magazines from the 1940's through 1995.

San Diego State University

Special Collections and University Archives, San Diego, CA 92182. 619-594-6791.
Web address: http://infodome.sdsu.edu./about/depts/spcollections/
4,000-volume collection of science fiction, 34 magazine titles, and a few dozen manuscripts, letters, recordings, and artworks.